berliner



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. E. BERLINER.

RADIATING MANTBLr No. 372,449. Patented Nov. 1, 1887.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. E. BERLINER.

RADIATING MANTEL. No. 372,449. Patented Nov. 1, 1887.

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NITED TATES Fries.

ATENT RADlATlNG-MANTEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 372,449, dated November 1, 1887.

Application filed December 24, 1886. Serial No. 222,494.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EMILE BERLINER, of Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Hadiating-Mantels, which improvement is fully set forth in the following specification.

This invention has reference to the construction of mantels, particularly to mantels designed to be set around open fire-places; though it is also applicable, wholly or in part, to use in connection with latrobc and other stoves. On account of the better Ventilation supposed to be afforded thereby, as well as for the sake of appearances, and for other reasons, open fireplaces are held in great esteem. Probably the principal drawback attending their use is the loss of heat, which in great part escapes to the chimney without contributing to the warmth of the apartment.

The object of my present invention is to preserve all the advantages and desirable features attending the use of open fire-places, and at the same time to reduce largely the amount of waste heat. This object is accomplished by the peculiar construction of the mantel, as hereinafter described, rendering it what may be termed a radiatingmantel.

The mantel, while to all appearances it may be similar to ordinary mantels and may be ornamented and embellished in any desired way, has a hollow space or spaces above and on each side of the grate, and the entire face or front wall of this hollow space is of metal and constitutes a heat-radiating surface of large area. The hot gases, smoke, and products of combustion, instead of escaping from the heater directly to the fiue,enter and circulate through the space or spaces in theinterior of the mantel, imparting their heat to the metal face, from which it is radiated into the room. Preferably there is placed directly above the fireplace a shield or partition, by which the products of combustion are deflected to either side of the mantel. They pass around the shield or partition at each end thereof and return along its upper surface in a passage or flue, of which the shield or partition forms the bottom. The shield or partition may be straight or curved, or, in fact, of any suitable shape or form to secure most effectually the desired circulation of the smoke and gases; and to this end the interior construction of the mantel (No model.)

may be modified in various ways. A damper may be placed in the shield or partition, to be opened when, as in starting afire, a brisk draft is desired. The back of the fire-place is a metal plate, which cuts off direct communication with the chimney and throws the products of combustion forward into the spaces before mentioned. The spaceimmcdiatcly behind this may have an airinlet below the level of the fire, so that a current of air may be heated by passing over the same and supplied to a room above. This current of air is further warmed in its ascent by contact with the smoke pipe leading from the fire-place.

I am of course aware that it is common, in Various ways, to economize heat by causing a circulation of the products of combustion from the fire; but, so far as I am aware, it has not been proposed heretofore to economize the heat of open fire-places by. leading the smoke and products of combustion through suitably-arranged flues in the hollow of the mantel, so that the heat may be radiated into the room or be imparted to a current of air which is admitted into the apartment. In many such heaters the smoke fines or passages have been made a part of the heater itself. These, of course, have-no relation to the present invention; but it has also been proposed heretofore to construct the smokeiiues in the mantel itself, so that the face of the latter becomes a heat-radiator. Such attempts have never sue ceeded in practice, so far as I am aware. It requires a strong and full draft to sustain an open fire, and the natural tendency of the circuitous dues and passages for the products of combustion would be to ch eck the draft to such an extent as to rcnderit difficult or impossible to maintain a good fire. It is owing to this difficulty, in all probability, that no successful heating apparatus involving the principle of a hollow radiatingmantel has ever been produced. In the mantels as it has been proposed to construct them the products of combustion have usually been directed upward through a more or less contracted throat or orifice and then deflected vertically downward to or near the bottom of the mantel, and finally allowed to escape into the chimney. In one instance it has been proposed to let the pro ducts of combustion escape into the smoke-fines formed in the heater through openings at the ICO ends ofthe grate and through another open ing directly over the middle part of the fire. According to my invention, instead of having the sides of the grate closed and a communication with the mantel only on top orat one or two points, the mantel is open into the fireplace all around the grate, so that the smoke and gases, instead of reaching the smoke-fines through a tortuous and contracted passage, at once and freely diffuse themselves into the fiues or spaces behind the radiatingface, and in their passage have no downward course. This construction of the fire-place, so that there is an open space at the sides of the grate, is not only essential to the efficieut maintenance of the fire in the grate and to prevent escape of smoke and gases into the apartment, but it also conduces to the more perfect combustion of the fuel at the ends of the grates, which ordinarily is consumed imperfectly,or not at all, owing to the fact that the ends of the grates are not readily accessible to air-currents.

The invention includes certain specific features of'construction hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure I is a front view of a mantel and fire-place; Fig.

11, a central vertical section thereof; Fig. III, a cross-section on line III, Fig. II; Fig. IV, a cross-section on line IV, Fig. II; Fig.V, a front View of a mantel, showing a construction that is advantageous when the radiating-face is of sheet metal; Fig. VI, a horizontal section on line VI, Fig. V; and Fig. VII, a detail view of a modification.

The face or front piece, A, of the mantel, or the partsurrounding the fire-place B and forming the support for the shelf 0, is formed of metal, preferably either cast or sheet iron. The interior of the mantel is hollow, and the hollow space is in direct communication with the fire-place' B, both above and at the sides thereof. The space above the fire-place be tween the face A of the mantel and the breast D of the chimney is marked 1 in the drawings, and the side spaces 2.

The exterior form or design of the face A can be varied within wide limits, and is obviously susceptible of a high degree of ornamentation and finish. Behindthe face A, and some distance above the fireplace B, (which is preferably set quite low,) is a horizontal shelf or partition, 3, its front edge resting on a fiange, 4, and its rear edge being set into the breast D. The partition 3 does not extend entirely across the mantel; but an opening is left around each end for thepassage of theproducts of combustion. Between this partition and the top piece, 5, of the mantel is formed a flue, 6, extending entirely across the mantel. The outlet 7 from the flue 6 to the chimney is directly above the middle of the fire-place, and in this is set a pipe, 8, into which the smoke finally passes. A damper, 9, is placed in the middle of the partition 3, to open, when necessary, a direct communication with the chim nev.

The metal back plate, 10, of the fire place is inclined forward,and isset at its upper end against the breast D of the chimney, closing the outlet from the fireplace to the flue 12 and deflecting the smoke and gases forward. In the back wall, E, ofthe chimney, about on a level with the grate 13, is an air-inlet, 14. The air entering at this point passes over the surface of plate 10 and is heated thereby. It is further heated in passing up flue 12 by contactwith the smoke-pipe 8. Asupply of fresh warm air may thus be furnished to a room above through a register in the ordinary way.

When the face'A is made of sheet metal, it should be sufficiently braced to prevent its warping or buckling out of shape by reason of changes of temperature. The construction shown in Figs. V and VI is designed to secure this object. The face A of sheet metal is secured in any suitable way to the upright castings 16 at each end of the mantel and to the intermediate casting, 17. The latter extends entirely around the fire-place and serves to brace the sheet-metal face A and prevent its bending out of shape. The casting 17 is provided on each side with a number of perfora tions, 18, through which the smoke and gases pass to the spaces 2. The top of the casting is imperforate, and answers the purpose of the shield or partition 3 in the other figures.

A convenient and practical mode of constructing a mantel with a sheet-metal radiating-surface is illustrated in Fig. VII, which shows a portion of the front of a mantel having a sheet-metal radiating-face, A, in front of which is an open-work covering, A, of any suitable ornamental design. The heat radiates from the face A through the openings or perforations in the covering A.

When a fire is started in the fire-place, the damper 9 may be opened and the front of the fire-place closed by a blower, compelling a brisk draft through the fuel, the air entering under the grate. When the fire has gained sufficient headway, the damper 9 should be closed. The hot products of combustion are then deflected by the partition 3, as indicated by the arrows, Fig. I, passing into the spaces 1 and 2, thence around the ends of partition 3 into the flue 6, and thence by outlet 7 to smoke-pipe 8. The face or front piece, A, thus becomes heated and the heat is radiated into the room from its entire surface.

It would of course be objectionable to have the shelf 0 of the mantel unduly heated, and to prevent this it rests upon supports 15, (shown'as balls, say of metal,) and is thus separated by an air-space from the top piece, 5. In addition to this air-insulation a layer, 19, of asbestus or like substance, is placed on the under side of the shelf 0, which may be of wood or other suitable material. By this IIIO place, the spaces or fines behind said face having a continuous communication with the tireplace at its top and sides, the partition in the interior of the mantel extending above the fireplace, but having a passage around it at each end, and a smoke-pipe above the partition, whereby theproducts of combustion pass freely into the spaces behind the radiating-face and upwardly around the ends of the horizontal partition, substantially as described.

2. In a mantel, the combination of the fireplace, the walls forming smoke-fines opening directly into the fire-place, the front wall being a metal radiating-face, the deflecting partition, the top plate, and the mantel-shelf separated from said top plate by an air space, substantially as described.

EMILE BERLINER.

Witnesses:

PHILIP MAURO, A. PoLLoK. 

